Two committees of the House of Representatives have reiterated their commitment to amend the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act 2004 towards ensuring free, safe and quality girls’ education up to the secondary school level.
The House Committees on Women in Parliament and Basic Education made the pledge during an event to commemorate the 2021 International Women’s Day on Monday in Abuja.
The event was organised by Malala Fund and its Education Champions, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) and the #AmendUBEAct Coalition.
Highlighting the need for gender-responsive education policies in Nigeria, Chairman, House Committee on Women in Parliament, Hon. Taiwo Oluga, said women made up about 100 million of the country’s 200 million population, hence, the need to educate and empower women towards contributing to the nation’s development.
According to her, the House of Representatives is committed to completion of the on-going amendment process of the UBE Act (2004).
The Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act amendment bill is at the committee stage at the House of Representatives. The bill seeks to provide a legal framework for free, safe and quality education up to twelve years, ensure an increase in basic education financing and promote gender-responsive learning, among others.
“Nigeria is being ranked to have the highest out-of-school children in the world. It is completely shameful to be talking about the status of basic education across Nigeria in 2021,” Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, Chairman, House Committee on Basic Education said
“When we talk about out-of-school children, we always put the numbers between 10 – 13 million. I believe it should be up to 20 million if all unique scenarios across the States are well-considered,” he added.
“More than the pandemic we should begin to address the dynamics of insecurity on girl child education. The Safe School Declaration includes commitments for perimeter fencing of schools with a single entrance and exit for adequate monitoring. What happened in Kangara was a shame resulting from years of total failure! There is a need to declare a state of emergency in the education sector in Nigeria,” said Prof. Ihovbere.
He expressed the need for political will and democratisation of budgeting processes in resolving Nigeria’s bulging out-of-school children crisis.
During the event, Honourables Taiwo Oluga and Mansur Manu Soro joined the league of lawmakers who declared an unwavering commitment to girls’ education and the amendment of the UBE Act by signing the Legislative Declaration on COVID-19 and Girls’ Education.
Malala Fund’s recent research showed that 20 million additional secondary school-aged girls around the world may be out of school once the crisis has passed due to increased rates of poverty, household responsibilities and child labour.
“Before the pandemic, an estimated 13.2 million children were out of school. School closures forced an additional 36 million enrolled students out of school. The COVID-19 pandemic is exasperating the girls’ education crisis in Nigeria. If leaders don’t act now, we risk losing another generation of girls,” noted Crystal Ikanih-Musa, Country Representative, Malala Fund.
The event was part of the wider Malala Fund COVID-19 campaign strategy, aimed at ensuring more gender-responsive legislation and plan for the recovery phase of the pandemic in Nigeria.
About Malala Fund:
Malala Fund is working for a world where all girls can learn and lead. Malala Fund advocates for resources and policy changes needed to give all girls a secondary education, invests in local education advocates and amplifies the voices of girls fighting for change. Learn more at malala.org.
About Education Champions – Nigeria:
Malala Fund Education Champions – Nigeria advocates for girls’ education access across six Northern states. As a national chapter of Malala Fund’s Education Champion Network, Nigerian Champions advocate for progressive amendments to education legislation, specifically for 12 years of free, safe and quality education under the Universal Basic Education Act.
Malala Fund’s Education Champions Network in Nigeria is made up of the following organisations: ACE Charity; African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD); Borno Women Development Initiative (BOWDI); Centre for Girls Education; Connected Development (CODE); Education as a Vaccine; Hallmark Leadership Initiative (HALI); Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP); Restoration of Hope Initiative (ROHI) and Youth Hub Africa.
